Like a Drug
by ADI2DE
Summary: AU – Andy's a troubled high school teen when she meets Sam Swarek for the first time – she's dating college boys, drinking, and getting caught up in a circle that does drugs. But what happens when a night-gone-wrong pulls Sam into her life in a way that neither of them could have expected? Can they go back to normal or are their lives forever changed?
1. Deal

A soft moan escapes her lips as her boyfriend, Tyler, presses her up against the brick wall just outside her front door, his lips on hers as one hand slides up her shirt and the other rests on her left hip. She shifts slightly, drawing one leg up so it's bent and her foot rests against the bricks at knee-level, the other leg strategically placed between his. Her breathing is starting to get heavier and she knows if they don't stop soon, Tyler's going to want to drag her back to his car. Not that she'll complain.

"Step away from my niece."

Andy pulls away from Tyler, groaning as a balding man comes into view.

"And that's how you greet your uncle?" says the balding man, who's now standing beside them, looking like he wants to throw Tyler off the front porch.

"You're not really even my uncle, Oliver," Andy argues.

Oliver looks at the punk who still has his hands on Andy, pinning her to the wall. "Are you deaf?"

"Chill man," Tyler says, slowly backing away. Turning back to Andy he says, "You wanna get out of here?"

"Uh huh," she says, reaching for her bag, but Oliver throws an arm between them.

"Scram," Oliver says to the kid.

Andy and Tyler exchange a quick glance before she shoves Oliver's arm aside and gives Tyler a quick kiss.

"See you tomorrow, my place?" Tyler asks.

"Uh huh," Andy says again, biting her lip, waiting until Tyler's far enough away before finally turning back to Oliver. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yeah Andy, it was. Your father would kill you if he saw that thing all over you," Oliver says.

"That thing is kind of my boyfriend," Andy replies.

"That thing looks like he's in college, and you're still in high school," Oliver says.

"So, it's really not a big deal," she says, before adding, "I'm just over half a year away from graduating high school and he's only four years older than me. It's not that bad."

Oliver shakes his head. It isn't until that moment that he finally realizes what she's wearing. His jaw drops slightly. "Your father lets you out of the house like that?"

Andy laughs. "It's called a uniform."

"Yeah, well, I think part of yours is missing."

"Well, maybe in your day the women wore skirts down to their ankles, but today, this is what we wear," she replies.

"Yeah, well if you ask me, it's giving way too much access to the likes of that scumbag."

"Boyfriend," Andy reminds him. "And about that, uhh, maybe just don't mention it to my dad."

"Andy," Oliver warns.

She rolls her eyes. "Look, he doesn't exactly know about Tyler, and it would just be easier if it stayed that way."

"Yeah, that's a great idea Andy because then when that scumbag knocks you up and your father finds out I knew about him… yeah, that will go over so well."

"Wow, real blunt there Uncle Ollie."

"Just promise me you won't go see him," Oliver says.

"Fine, I'll tell him I'm busy _tomorrow_."

"Andy," Oliver warns. "You know what I mean. He's in college and you're in high school. College boys only go after high school girls for one reason."

"I'm not a whore," she says, crossing her arms.

"That's not what I'm trying to say," Oliver says. "I'm just worried about you, and I don't trust him. I think your father deserves to know."

"I'm not a kid anymore. If I want to have sex I will, and I'll have it with whomever I want, whenever I want."

Oliver's mouth drops open. "Andy!"

She shrugs. "Look, here's the deal. I'll get my dad to bring me into the poker game. If I win, you keep your mouth shut. If you win, I'll tell him or you can tell him, whatever. Deal?"

Oliver hesitates. He's never seen Andy play poker before and he isn't sure he should even risk not telling her father, particularly given the man was his T.O.

"Not convinced? Why not ask your cop buddy there what he thinks? He's had enough time to develop a low opinion of me, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't have an issue with it."

Sam looks up in surprise. He's been standing on the path leading up to the house the entire time, but not once had she looked at him, until now. He was positive she didn't even know he was there, but clearly he'd been wrong. "None of my business," he says, holding up his hands.

Andy laughs. "Yeah, I'm definitely getting in on this game. Your friend here, Uncle Ollie, doesn't seem like a risk-taker."

Sam frowns. The look on her face suggests she was challenging him, and having a beautiful young woman challenge him is hard to resist. He has to remind himself that she's seven years younger than him and that's kind of wrong at the moment, especially given the fact that she's a cop's daughter, Detective Tommy McNally's no less.

"His name is Sam Swarek," Oliver says.

"Yeah, I've heard about you," Andy says, laughing a little as she ignores the confusion on the man's face. She hesitates, then holds out her hand. When she sees Sam hesitate as well, she says, "Don't worry, my hand wasn't anywhere Uncle Ollie wouldn't approve of."

Sam's eyes widen slightly, but he says nothing. It takes a lot of effort to hold back the laughter that threatens to spill out at her declaration.

"Andy," Oliver hisses. "When did you become so vulgar?"

She drops her hand before speaking. "Oh, I'd say sometime between my so called mother leaving and scumbag's arrival," Andy says, smirking. "Too much?"

"Your father's okay with it?" Oliver asks, ignoring her question.

Andy rolls her eyes. "Vulgar is for my boyfriend you're so fond of… The big guy is oblivious. He still treats me like I'm nine half the time." Before Oliver can respond, Andy says, "So back to business… I'm just going to say we have a deal, and I'll see you inside." With that she hugs Oliver and kisses his cheek before opening the door and stepping inside.

Oliver closes the door behind her and turns back to Sam. "What do you think?"

"That's Tommy McNally's daughter?" Sam says. He knows it's ridiculous to say, but she's not what he expected. She has a lot of fire and she's clearly a little rebellious, but he senses that underneath the attitude she's probably also really kind as well. It's the fire that danced in her eyes though that caught his attention the most.

Oliver chuckles. "Yeah buddy, so you'd better be careful or she'll wrap you around her finger too."

Sam frowns. Ignoring the comment, he says, "I don't know what you should do. That guy is clearly out for one thing and I don't think it's going to end well, but is it your place to tell her dad?"

"Alright, poker it is, and only time will tell," Oliver says, exhaling deeply as he slaps his friend on the back.


	2. Toxic

**Welcome back! Thanks for the reviews and follows! I currently have six other stories posted, with more to come, so if you haven't checked those out, feel free to do so and let me know what you think so far. Thanks for reading!**

Recap: Oliver discovers that Andy has a college-age boyfriend who is clearly out for one thing. He wants to tell Tommy, but Andy persuades him to leave it in the hands of a poker game – if she wins, he'll have to keep quiet. Sam joins the game and meets Andy for the first time.

True to her word, Andy manages to persuade her father to let her sit in on the poker game.

"Small crowd tonight," Oliver comments, seeing that it's only Tommy, Sam, himself, and Andy. There are usually six regulars, and tonight's the first night both Sam and Andy are sitting at the table with them.

"A lot of last minute cancellations," Tommy says, nodding in agreement before taking another swig of his whiskey.

"So uh, how well does your daughter play?" Oliver asks, trying to sound casual.

Tommy glances at Andy, a smile breaking out on his face. "She can hold her own," Tommy replies, though the look on his face suggests she can do more than just that.

"If you'd hurry up and deal then you'd find out," Andy says, smiling over at the man she calls uncle, despite having no blood ties and having only known him for a year.

"Like I said, watch that one," Oliver warns Sam.

Tommy clears his throat. "_That_ one is my daughter," he says, though he's biting back a laugh.

"And _that_ one is sitting right here and can hear every word you're saying," Andy says, smirking. "So whenever you're down talking, maybe we can actually play?"

She starts off slow, not really playing much unless she feels confident. Usually when her dad plays poker she's out in the other room, but she'd periodically stop in, so she feels like she has a good enough idea of how Oliver and her own father play. Having never met Sam before, she can't quite get a read on how he plays yet. On the front porch she'd jokingly said he didn't look like a risk-taker, but as she'd said it, she saw the fire in his eyes. The thought makes her smile. She'd heard about him. He's apparently a really good cop, one of the best to walk through her father's division in a long time, but he's also said to be intimidating at times, despite his alleged inability to keep women away. She can't understand why.

She takes a moment to really observe him. His brown eyes seem to change depending on his mood, but they have such depth that it's hard not to look at them. Her gaze shifts slightly, and Andy notes the way his t-shirt clings to him – it's clear he works out. Then there's the dark hair and slightly tanned skin – he looks a little rugged, but in an attractive way.

"Earth to Andy," Oliver says, chuckling.

Realizing she's been staring at Sam and it's now her turn, she says, "Thanks Oliver, but I heard you the first time."

"You sure about that?" Oliver teases, grinning.

Andy forces herself to keep her composure – the last thing she wants is to blush. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just trying to get a read on the new guy."

Sam looks up at her, watching as she bites her lip before his gaze moves up and he meets her eyes.

A smile breaks out on her face. Oliver and her father have already folded. "You're bluffing," she states.

Sam continues to stare evenly at her, determined not to give anything away. The way she'd said it though was with such confidence that he wonders if he should back out. It frustrates him that in such a short amount a time a complete stranger seems to be able to read him so well, but then again, perhaps she's just guessing and trying to get him to slip up. "Am I?" he inquires, smirking.

She answers with her actions. She raises again.

Her father gets up and leaves to go to the washroom. Once out of sight, Andy grabs his glass and takes a sip.

"Andy," Oliver hisses.

"What?" she says.

"Really, you're going to pull that card?" Oliver asks. "You're not even legal yet. You can't drink that."

"_That_ is whiskey, and try telling my dad that, he's the one that leaves it all over the house."

Sam frowns. Oliver has a point: she isn't legal yet, although most people her age are already getting plastered every weekend. What strikes him more though is the fact that she actually seems to like whiskey. He's dated a lot of girls and none of them have, including his present… girlfriend? Fling? He forces his eyes away. Already he can tell that this girl is toxic.

"It doesn't mean you should drink it," Oliver chides. "And in a house with three cops!"

"Likely soon to be two," Andy says, causing both Oliver and Sam to raise their eyebrows. She shrugs. "What? It's not like it's a secret that he's an alcoholic. That's gotta have some kind of impact on his job sooner or later."

"Your father's a good cop," Oliver says sharply.

"Was," Andy corrects, taking another sip of whiskey.

"Andy," Oliver hisses again. "You—"

Andy picks up a stack of her chips and puts them in Oliver's pile. "For your silence," she says, interrupting him, a smile on her face.

"That's not how this works."

Andy says, "That's exactly how this works. You disrupt his perfect image of me and he'll only hit the bottle harder."

Sam looks back up at her, frowning.

When Andy turns to face Sam, she shrugs. "He needs to be bribed, but I don't think you do."

Sam raises his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah," Andy replies, thankful for the escape. "Sam Swarek, the bad-boy. You're not gonna rat me out. Maybe if I drank the whole bottle, but not for that."

"You sure about that?" Sam asks.

Andy smiles. "Notorious rule breaker?" she says, quirking an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm positive."

"Gambling of any sort is a bad habit to get into," Sam says. "It's hard to break."

"It's not gambling if there's no risk."

"No risk?" Sam says, quirking an eyebrow. "How?"

"Simple. You have nothing to gain from ratting me out, and even if you did, you don't want to."

He raises his eyes again to study her, gradually shifting his gaze upward until their eyes meet. They stare at each other for a moment; the intensity of the look growing the longer they hold each other's gaze, but neither one is able to look away.

"So are we still playing poker or what?" Oliver asks, trying to steer the conversation back to the game. When he doesn't receive a response, he looks from Sam to Andy and back again, his eyes widening. "Whoa guys, do I need to get the hose monkeys in here? Or remind both of you that you're seeing other people, and that this is out of the question, not going to happen, forbidden. Wrong. Very wrong."

That snaps them out of it.

Andy looks away, just as her dad starts coming back into the room. She sees Sam steal a quick glance at Oliver who has his lips pressed together. "Not done yet?" Tommy asks, surprised.

Andy shakes her head. "Officer Swarek here seems to be taking his time."

Sam withholds a sigh. This girl is definitely getting to him. He's just thankful that she'd changed into a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants, although if he's honest with himself, even with the loungewear and her hair pulled up in a messy bun, she still looks gorgeous.

The bets increase to the point where Tommy says, "Andy sweetie, are you sure about this? That's an awful lot."

"Uh huh," she says. "Positive," she adds as she looks back up at Sam.

He studies her for a moment before the final card is flipped. Sam has an okay hand, but nothing great. He's banking on Andy having even less though – actually, he thought she'd pull out much earlier but when she didn't, he just kept going. He knew it had gotten a little out of hand, especially given he didn't have a solid read on her yet, but the look in her eyes made him continue.

Oliver looks back and forth. "Reveal," he says.

**Thanks again for reading! Let me know what you think so far :)**


	3. Bluff

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**Recap: Sam, Oliver, Tommy, and Andy are engaged in a poker game. Tommy is oblivious to the fact that Andy is playing with the sole purpose of winning Oliver's silence regarding the existence of her boyfriend. During the game, she further tests Oliver's limits when she drinks her father's alcohol and bribes him afterwards with poker chips. Sam and Andy share a heated stare, and Oliver is forced to snap them back to reality.**

_Oliver looks back and forth. "Reveal," he says. _

Sam hesitates, then flips his cards over. "Not much," he admits with a shrug, putting the cards down so they're face up.

Andy laughs, then slowly flips her own cards. She barely beat Sam.

"You went in on that?" Oliver says, blown away.

"I told you he was bluffing," Andy says with a shrug.

"Yeah, and so were you," Sam replies, smirking. He actually really doesn't mind losing to her at the moment.

"But at least _my_ bluff paid off," she says, grinning.

He shakes his head. "This time."

"Oh don't worry Officer Swarek, it will work next time too," she replies, still smiling.

Sam laughs, turning to Tommy. "Did you teach her?"

"Not quite like that," says Tommy, still shaking his head at his daughter's bold move.

She folds for several hands in a row. "Lose your boldness?" Oliver teases.

Andy smiles. "No, I just thought I should give Officer Swarek a chance to get back in the game before I steal the rest of his money."

Sam looks at her, eyes wide. "Not happening."

"If you say so," Andy drawls, pressing her lips together to hold back another smile.

It's silent for several minutes – she takes the time to study Sam a little more, but Oliver interrupts her.

"You back on the basketball team this year or do you have to wait for tryouts?"

"Uh huh," she says, watching as her dad folds. Then realizing she hasn't really answered his question, she adds, "Basketball's already started. We have playoffs next week. But yeah, I got to skip tryouts this year, same with soccer… I'm thinking about playing hockey this year too, but we'll see."

"And you're still planning on working the rest of the school year?" asks Oliver, frowning.

"Uh huh."

"You can manage all that?"

Andy finally looks up at him. "Yeah," she says, as if she can't understand why she wouldn't be able to.

"You know you're going to land some pretty nice scholarships anyway, so do you just enjoy torturing yourself by adding on the extra?"

Andy laughs, but says nothing. She can handle it.

"Still planning on following in your old man's footsteps?" Oliver says when the silence persists for several minutes.

"Old man?" says Tommy, faking offence.

Oliver grins and waits for Andy's response.

Meanwhile, Sam looks up at her, trying not to look too curious. It isn't unusual for a cop's child to follow in his or her footsteps, but he's never heard Tommy or Oliver mention that Andy's even considered becoming a cop, not that he's heard a whole lot about her in the first place. This could definitely make things interesting.

"Yeah, maybe," she says, shrugging.

There isn't much else said until both Oliver and her father are out of poker chips. She'd played a few hands to ensure Sam wouldn't have too many chips, but in the process she'd also wiped out the others. She smiles as her dad pushes his chair back in defeat, leaving her to battle it out with the new guy.

The hands go back and forth for the most part, until Andy wins three consecutive hands, pulling her ahead slightly.

"Watch out Sammy, she's been sizing you up all night," Oliver says.

Andy laughs. "You know, for cops, you really aren't very good at reading people," she says. "Maybe you should brush up on those skills and then come back and try to play some real poker."

"A little cocky?" Sam says.

"Confident," she corrects, smiling.

She hears her father get up, no doubt for another drink.

"Did you offend the old man?" asks Oliver.

Andy shakes her head. "Trust me, it would take a lot worse for me to offend him."

"And what about me?" Oliver says.

"Well, _you_ were beat by a high school student, so I don't really think there's much you can say," she retorts, biting back a grin.

Sam laughs.

"Hey, you might be next brother," Oliver warns Sam.

He shrugs.

Andy changes topics, all the while studying Sam's face. "How's Izzy… and your wife?"

"Good, good," Oliver replies. "Izzy's been throwing some temper tantrums, but otherwise she's pretty good. Zoe's having a bit of a hard time with it, but she's doing well."

Andy smiles. "Good."

She directs her next question at Sam. "What about you? You've got a girlfriend. Do you have kids?"

Sam shakes his head and Oliver chuckles.

"Sammy here isn't one for kids and marriage… or relationships in general. In fact, I'm surprised his current girlfriend has lasted three weeks already."

"Thanks Ollie," says Sam, smacking the back of his friend's head.

Andy smirks. "See, that's another reason why I haven't been worried about him opening his mouth," she says, glancing around to make sure her father won't overhear.

Sam frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Andy hastily replies. "Don't worry about it."

"No, I want to hear. So…" prods Sam.

"I just mean you're not like him," she says, nodding towards Oliver. "He's so… by the rules. A family man. You step out of bounds when he's around and you have to justify it or persuade him to keep his mouth shut. You… I don't think you play by the rules, and I suspect the only commitments you make are to your job and your friends…" She turns to look at Oliver as she says, "And I think you're wrong. Just because he may not have considered kids and marriage before doesn't mean he isn't one for it. He just doesn't know how to commit to women because I don't think he really understands them, and he doesn't know how to read them." She sees Sam open his mouth to protest, so she cuts in again, "Don't try to deny it. After two hours, you're starting to get slightly irritated because you still can't read me and figure out when I'm bluffing."

Oliver slaps his friend on the back. "Better give in now buddy, she's just going to take your money from you anyway."

Sam shakes his head. This girl is driving him crazy, but not in an angry way. It's an odd feeling. He runs his tongue along the inside of his teeth before touching it to his cheek. The longer he sits at the table with her, the more confident he is about his initial assessment of her: she really is toxic… addicting. He can't help but want to know more about her, and whenever she smiles or laughs it's a struggle not to do the same. In all fairness, Oliver had warned him that she'd wrap him around her finger – he hadn't believed it at the time, but he suspected she was starting to do just that. Since when had he become such a pushover?

Knowing she's either spot on or close enough with what she'd said, she smiles, then pushes all of her chips into the centre.

Oliver's jaw drops as he turns to look at his friend.

"Your turn Officer Swarek," says Andy, grinning.

Sam looks to Oliver, who merely shrugs. "Can't help you brother," Oliver says. "I haven't won a single hand against her all night."

Andy holds his gaze, feeling his brown eyes piercing her own. She holds it for a moment before lowering her eyes, drumming her fingers against the table.

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," Sam says, pushing all of his chips into the pile.

"You should have listened to your gut," Andy replies, flipping her cards to reveal the highest possible hand. Sam groans.

Chuckling, Oliver gathers the money in the middle of the table and hands it to Andy, who smiles at him as she accepts it. Seconds later she's rising from the table.

"Hey, where are you going?" Oliver asks. "We always play two games."

Andy smiles. "_You_ always play two games. _I _know enough to quit when I'm ahead. Besides, I wouldn't feel right taking your money for a second time tonight, so I'll let the three of you fight over it while I finish my homework."

Oliver and Sam laugh, watching as she pours another glass of whiskey for her father, then hides the bottle in one of the kitchen cupboards. Oliver nods to her and gives her a small smile.

When Tommy finally reappears in the room, he kisses his daughter on the forehead in congratulations as she heads into the living room, oblivious to the fact that Sam is still watching her.

**Thanks for reading!**

**So, there's definitely something going on between Sam and Andy, BUT Sam has a girlfriend… AND is Andy really even aware that he's attracted to her? Maybe not as aware as she should be… Up next: What happens when Oliver and Sam run into Andy with her scumbag boyfriend while responding to a noise complaint?**


	4. Law Enforcement

**Welcome back! Thanks for your awesome reviews, and for the follows/favourites. I love reading what you guys think so please keep the reviews coming.**

**Recap: Andy's playing poker with her dad, Oliver, and Sam in an effort to win Oliver's silence regarding the existence of her college-age boyfriend. While her dad is out of the room, Andy's behaviour could be considered somewhat inappropriate, including bribing Oliver for his silence and exchanging intense stares with Sam. Meanwhile, Sam develops an obvious curiosity where Andy is considered, wanting to know more about her, while simultaneously finding himself slowly being wrapped around her finger in the same way Oliver and her dad are… Andy ends up winning the poker game.**

Andy retreats to the front hall to grab her books and iPod, then flops on the couch in the living room so that she's facing the dining room and can still see the guys playing poker.

Within half an hour of opening her math textbook she's snapping it shut again, tossing it on the coffee table along with her notebook containing all of her solutions. As she reaches for her history book, her cell phone buzzes; her boyfriend's name pops up on the screen. Smiling, she snatches it up. "Hey," she says.

"Hey babe," says the voice on the other end of the line. "Those guys still over?"

"Yeah, it's poker night," Andy explains.

"So you gonna come see me tomorrow night?"

"Uh, I can't tomorrow." Seeing both Oliver and Sam staring at her, she rolls her eyes.

"Alright, so what about the day after?" Tyler asks.

"I work 'til seven."

"So I'll pick you up after work and take you for coffee or something?"

"Umm, yeah," says Andy. "I guess so."

"Oh, and one of my buddies is having a party Friday night. I was thinking we could go," says Tyler. "It's at his parents' house – they're away for the weekend and they're pretty loaded, so…"

"Umm, yeah sure, could be fun," Andy replies, biting her lower lip.

"So you think you can give your old man the slip for a bit?"

Andy rolls her eyes again and laughs. "Yeah, I think I can manage."

"Alright, babe, well I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Uh huh," says Andy, hanging up the phone.

She can still sense eyes on her. "Hey dad," she says a little hesitantly at first. "I'm going to go for coffee with a friend Wednesday after work, okay?"

"Sure sweetie."

Andy smiles, her eyes turning to Oliver who looks suspicious. She silently dares him to question her. "And I'm going to hang out with Gail Friday night. I might stay over if it gets too late."

"Gail Peck?" asks Tommy.

"Yeah dad, that's the only Gail I know," she replies.

Sam looks at Oliver. He's heard about the Peck girl – she's just as bad as the rest of her family, maybe even worse. As he studies Andy, he's surprised to find that for the first time all night, he can read her, and she's most definitely lying. He glances at Tommy, but the man continues to reply without looking at his daughter.

"Sure sweetie."

Again, Andy smiles and stares at Oliver, giving a small shrug in response to his questioning look.

* * *

_Wednesday after Andy finishes work…_

She tilts her head to the left, letting her hair fall to the side, as she exposes her neck a little more. Her legs are starting to feel shaky and she can feel the warmth spreading through her. "Where are your keys?" she asks, pulling Tyler the rest of the way to his door.

Tyler breaks away from her for a moment, smirking as he pulls a keychain out of his pocket and fumbles to unlock the door as he kisses her neck again. As the lock slides open, he shoves his keys back in his pocket, then roughly pulls her to him, his hands immediately sliding down to the bottom of her skirt. Realizing he hasn't pushed the door open, he reluctantly removes one hand and raises it to the doorknob, which he quickly turns. Pushing the door open, he backs her into his room.

"You've got to be kidding me," Oliver says angrily.

Sam follows his friend's gaze and sees Andy and her boyfriend stepping into one of the rooms down the hall. As Oliver briskly walks down the hall towards them, Sam's eye widen. "You're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

"I'm not going to let that thing touch her," Oliver snaps, glaring at Sam.

He frowns. He's never seen Oliver this upset before. "Are you sure—"

"She's like family to me Sam," Oliver interrupts. "And that guy is a creep. He's going to hurt her."

Sam withholds a sigh and follows his friend. They'd come to the campus to respond to several noise complaint calls, and just happened to stumble across Tommy's rebellious daughter. That girl had trouble written all over her; he knew it from the second he first laid eyes on her. He shakes his head to himself. It isn't that he doesn't agree with Oliver – there's definitely something off about Andy's boyfriend – but he doesn't feel right doing this. He tries to rationalize things. It's to protect her, he knows that, and although he barely knows her, he doesn't want her to get hurt. Still, he thinks she's old enough to make her own decisions without having her father or her father's co-workers meddling with whom she sees and what she does. Nevertheless, he follows his friend without a word.

Oliver pounds on the door. No response. He pounds again, this time harder, and continues to pound until the door finally opens, revealing a shirtless Tyler.

"What?" says Tyler, clearly not impressed that they've been interrupted.

"Andy, get your stuff and get out here," says Oliver, staring at his feet in case she isn't decent.

"Hey man, chill," says Tyler. "We weren't doing anything wrong."

"She's a minor your moron," Oliver snaps. "If you touch her I can arrest you."

Andy gets off the bed, buttoning her shirt back up as she walks to the door. She pushes Tyler to the side a little. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sam leans up against the wall in the hallway, wanting no part in this conversation.

"Do you have your things?" Oliver demands, ignoring her question.

"Seriously?" Andy says, hands on her hips.

"You're a minor Andy," Oliver reminds her. "And he… he's not worth it."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Andy says, laughing in disbelief. "I'm eighteen tomorrow. Do you really think a few hours is going to make a difference?"

"According to the law it does," Oliver replies, showing no mercy. "You haven't reached the age of majority; he has, and you even said he's in his final year of college… So, according to the criminal code, a person at or over the age of majority who has sex with someone who hasn't reached the age of majority can be considered guilty of statutory rape."

She opens her mouth, staring at him in horror. She can't believe what she's hearing. After grabbing her things, she storms out of the room, shoving past Oliver as she makes her way to the stairwell.

Meanwhile, Oliver shoves Tyler back into the room, then closes the door and follows in Andy's footsteps.

"Andy," Oliver calls out when he sees her walking in the opposite direction of their squad car.

"What?" she snaps, turning to look at him.

"Get in the car."

"No," she says angrily.

"Andy, get in the car now," Oliver says.

"You think you can just tell me what to do?" She laughs dryly. "As if you were so innocent when you were my age…" She lets out a frustrated sigh. "And you're not my father. You might be a cop, but I don't have to go anywhere with you."

"You're right, I'm not your father, but he would be doing the exact same thing right now if he knew you were here," Oliver replies.

"Just because he would doesn't mean you have the right to," she says, turning around again and continuing to walk away.

Oliver starts walking towards her, but Sam finally steps in and intervenes, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder as he walks by. "I've got this," Sam says. He has no idea what he'll say, but Oliver isn't making things any better so he figures he has to give it a shot. When he catches up to Andy, she glances at him, then turns her eyes back to the sidewalk.

"Don't tell me you agree with him?" she says.

"He means well," Sam replies. "And I do think that guy is going to hurt you. Oliver's just trying to protect you."

She rolls her eyes. "Maybe I don't need to be protected."

"So you really don't think your boyfriend is going to hurt you?" he asks slowly.

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't," Andy says, shrugging. "But if he hurts me, that's on me. I'll live, I'll learn."

Sam sighs. "What do you even see in him?"

Andy shrugs again. "Makes me feel good." Seeing Sam's expression, she adds, "About myself."

He hesitantly reaches out and grabs her arm, forcing her to stop. "Give me your phone."

She stares up at him. "Why?"

He holds his hand out, but doesn't answer right away.

Sighing, she pulls out her phone and hands it to him.

As he speaks, he punches his phone number into her phone. "I'm going to give you some advice whether you want it or not." He glances at her to make sure she's listening. "I've seen what guys like that do to girls... If you stay with him, you might be heading down a path you can't come back from. You might not see it now; you might not even see it until you're so deep that you don't know how to get out. I promise you though, nothing good is going to come from staying with him, but it is your choice. Just don't do anything you're not comfortable with, no matter what he says or no matter how he makes you feel. Just use your head, and if you need help, call me."

Andy looks up at him for a moment before turning her eyes back down to the sidewalk. "Yeah," she says quietly, nodding. When nothing else is said, she turns and starts walking again.

"McNally," he calls out, watching as her shoulders slump slightly.

"Yeah?" she says, turning back to face him.

"Oliver's my partner, so I have to back him up," Sam says. "And it's been a really long day, our shift is ending, and I just want to go home, but he's not going to let this go until you let us drive you."

"Seriously?" she says, though she knows it's true. The last thing she wants is to be stuck in a car with Oliver after what he's done. "Fine," she says after a long moment. "But you owe me."

Sam smiles slightly. "Thank you."

He walks side-by-side with her to the car, thankful that Oliver had the sense to get in before they reached it. He opens the back door for her, closes it once she's in, then gets in the passenger side.

"We're dropping by the station first," Oliver says.

Andy stares out the window, but says nothing.

* * *

When they arrive at the station, Andy follows them inside. It's been awhile since she's been there so her eyes start wandering, not realizing that Oliver had stopped. She runs right into him, groaning upon the impact. He looks her over once, then says, "Stay here. We'll be ten minutes max."

"Yes sir," she says, giving him a mock salute.

He shakes his head, keeping his mouth shut until they hit the men's changerooms. "You think I'm wrong, don't you?" he asks his friend.

Sam shakes his head. "I get it, you're trying to protect her."

"But _she_ just doesn't get it," Oliver says. "She's a smart girl and she works so hard, but she's had a rough go of things since her mother left, and she's been trying to fill the void in all of the wrong ways."

Sam shrugs. "She's young, she's just trying to figure things out."

"Yeah, but she can do so much better than that guy, she just doesn't seem to realize that... And she's just so oblivious to the way people look at her."

Sam frowns, but says nothing.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice she's a good looking girl?" Oliver says, forcing out a small chuckle.

Sam shrugs. He'd noticed, but he wasn't quite sure what Oliver was trying to get at. Being an attractive girl could garner more attention from guys and mean she potentially had more options, but a lot of them were bound to be just as bad as her boyfriend.

Oliver sighs. "She's so unaware of it, and that creep is trying to take full advantage of the fact. It makes me sick."

They finish changing out of their uniforms, then lock up their guns and go to find Andy. At first they don't see her, but the sound of her laugh directs them to the bullpen where she's sitting behind one of the desks talking to a few of the guys around her. Sam and Oliver exchange glances.

"Alright boys, back to work," says Oliver. "Leave McNally's daughter alone."

The officers hesitate.

"She's seventeen," Oliver says sharply.

The expression on their faces shifts, and the men quickly scatter, leaving Andy looking alone and rather annoyed.

Once they're outside and heading towards Sam's truck, she says, "You know, that was kind of rude."

Oliver turns to look at her. "What was?"

"Interrupting like that and dragging me out of there. They were telling me a story."

"They were flirting with you," Oliver says. "And I'm not in the mood to have to deal with that later on either. Not to mention, I'm sure your father wouldn't be too thrilled with the idea of his co-workers hitting on his teenage daughter."

She laughs. "They weren't flirting with me, and I'm not a kid anymore so..."

"Yes, they were," Oliver argues. "And you are still a kid Andy."

She looks from Oliver to Sam, a blush creeping into her cheeks upon realizing that Oliver may have been right. After a moment of silence, she argues, "Just because a guy talks to me doesn't mean he's flirting with me… and even if they were, is it really that bad? You clearly don't like Tyler, so aren't those guys better?"

Oliver stops and turns to look at her. He opens his mouth, but immediately shuts it.

"Seriously, not every guy that talks to me wants to sleep with me."

"Alright, so name one guy who hasn't shown any indication of wanting to sleep with you," Oliver says. "And it can't be anyone you consider family."

Andy frowns, tilting her head slightly as she thinks. She typically gets along well with guys, until they get a little too friendly and cross the friend's line. Surely there's someone though. Her eyes fall on Sam. "Him."

Sam looks up, his eyebrows raised. He already told her what he thought, so he's been trying to stay out of the conversation now, even if he has been listening to every word. As he looks at her now, he feels really bad for her. Oliver's right – she really has no idea how gorgeous she is and apparently she hasn't had much luck with guy friends if she's resorting to saying he's one person who wouldn't want to sleep with her. Yeah, she's young, naïve, and currently still a minor, _but_ if she was at least a few years older and he was single… _and_ if she wasn't Tommy's daughter, then if offered the opportunity, he likely wouldn't refuse. _But_ she is too young especially given he's now 23, he isn't single, _and_ she is Tommy's daughter. Again, he feels bad for her. She's a smart girl, but she's more than a little clueless about how men perceive her. It makes him think that maybe Oliver isn't wrong to be so harsh with her – it's likely either Oliver's lectures, or learning the hard way one day, although he isn't so sure it won't be both. Snapping out of his thoughts, he stares at her with schooled features, but says nothing.

Oliver looks at Sam, then back at Andy, shaking his head. "Get in the truck."

**Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think. Hope to see you around for the next chapter!**


	5. Call for Help

**Welcome back! Sorry for the rather large delay in getting this chapter up – it's been an embarrassingly long time. It needed a few changes/fine-tuning before I could continue, but hopefully we're back on track and you're still around. That said, here's a longer chapter.**

**Anyway, thank you guys for your reviews, follows, and favourites. I appreciate all of the feedback so far, and hope you'll continue to let me know what you think!**

**Reminder: This _is_**** a McSwarek story. (ALL of my stories are)**

**Recap: Andy is playing poker with her dad, Oliver, and Sam in an effort to win Oliver's silence regarding the existence of her college-age boyfriend. While her dad is out of the room, Andy's behaviour could be considered somewhat inappropriate, including bribing Oliver for his silence and exchanging intense stares with Sam. Meanwhile, Sam develops an obvious curiosity where Andy is considered, wanting to know more about her, while simultaneously finding himself slowly being wrapped around her finger in the same way Oliver and her dad are… Andy ends up winning the poker game… Sam and Oliver respond to a noise complaint call and end up running into Andy and her boyfriend. Oliver threatens Tyler, and Sam has to convince Andy to let them drive her home.**

**One final note: I apologize for the scene labels - I usually separate each scene with a line - but there still seem to be some issues with formatting and since the lines won't show up, this will at least create a little bit of separation.**

**Scene 1**

Sam leans forward to kiss her, his right hand sliding up behind her neck and tangling itself in her hair as his left hand moves to her hip and just barely grazes her skin. As the kiss deepens, he guides her body down onto the couch.

"Sam," she whines when they break apart for air, her hands tugging at the bottom of his shirt.

He smirks. She's never been one for taking things slow. Right now though, he's more than willing to comply. As his lips move to her neck, his left hand slides up under her shirt. The simple contact is enough to elicit a moan from her. Before he can get much further though, his phone rings and snaps him out of it.

His eyes flick to the clock. It's well after midnight. Nobody he knows would call him at this time of night – at least, nobody who wanted to live. Assuming it's a prank call, Sam gives a small shrug and, ignoring the ringing, focuses his attention back on Lindsay, thankful when his phone finally falls silent.

The silence, however, is short-lived. Seconds later the ringing starts up again. He groans and reluctantly pulls away from his girlfriend, a frown forming on his face as he reaches for his phone. There better be a good reason for the interruption.

"Just ignore it," Lindsay pleads, trying to pull him back in for another kiss.

Although his fingers are now curled around his phone, he briefly concedes, letting her draw him back in. But, each ring tugs a little more at his conscience and curiosity. And it really doesn't help that her whining has turned him off a little too. He hates when she whines – it's the least attractive thing about her, and it seems to be happening more frequently. Then again, whoever is calling has terrible timing, so this time her whining _might_ be warranted. Quite honestly, he isn't exactly thrilled either. Still, Sam finds his curiosity winning. Holding up a hand to silence her, he climbs off the couch and connects the call. "Hello?"

"Sam?"

He frowns, not recognizing the voice. "Yeah?"

There's a brief pause. "Remember when you said I could call you if I needed help?"

His mind races for a moment before it settles on brown hair and brown eyes. "Andy?"

"Yeah."

"What's going on?" he asks, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I could _really_ use some help right now."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he presses as he moves a little further away from the couch. Andy sounds out of breath, but there's something else that's off too, he just can't quite put his finger on it.

"Uh," Andy says before a curse escapes her. She steps back into the alley and presses her body up against the brick wall. "I don't know… I'm just… I… I don't know what to do." She groans. With each passing minute she can feel her focus slipping and her body slowly shutting down. The thought of blacking out or waking up in some unknown part of the city terrifies her. "How fast can you get to Wellesley and... and Bay Street?"

Sam runs a hand over his face. "You're serious?"

"Yeah?"

He can hear the uncertainty in her voice, like maybe she's doubting the sincerity of his offer. His eyes flick to Lindsay. This isn't going to go over well. "Ten or fifteen minutes," he finally says.

"Thank you," she breathes. Seconds later the call is disconnected.

Sam stares at his phone for a long moment before walking back to Lindsay. "I have to go."

"Who was it?"

"Cop's kid," Sam says, shrugging. "Needs help."

Lindsay frowns. "Why ask you?"

He hesitates. "Because I told her she could," Sam replies, grimacing at Lindsay's reaction. She most definitely is _not_ impressed. He can't exactly blame her though – they'd been moments away from having sex and he'd just agreed to help another woman… kid? Woman? Hell, he doesn't know what she is anymore. The only thing he really knows at that moment is that he's an idiot, but he told Andy to call him if she needed help and she did. So what was he supposed to do?

"She?" Lindsay says, eyes narrowing.

"Uh yeah," Sam replies, trying not to make a big deal out of it as he puts on his jacket and slides his feet into his shoes.

"How old is she?" She's standing now with her hands planted on her hips.

"Too young to concern you." He kisses her quickly before leaving her place, knowing full well that he's going to pay for that. But, by the time he reaches his truck, he realizes that even if this causes things to go south, he probably won't be all that disappointed. After all, even Oliver's surprised that it lasted this long. And, quite frankly, he is too.

**Scene 2**

Within fifteen minutes he's pulling up to the corner of Wellesley and Bay, jumping a little when the passenger door swings open and Andy throws herself inside. He watches as she hastily does up her seatbelt, then slouches down in the seat and tugs on the hood of her jacket so it covers more of her face. Her shoulders are noticeably rising and falling, and her breathing is heavy. She's definitely been running.

"Can you just..." she begins, but falls silent as she rubs her eyes and groans. Ever since she called him. her focus has been fading in and out, and right now, it's on its way out again. "I just need…" The lights from an approaching car have her shrinking down in her seat, a little lower than before. "Just…" She blinks hard. What the hell is wrong with her? Her eyes are starting to betray her; words are failing her. For all she knows, he isn't really here. She could be passed out in an alley, or back at the residence. His truck, his presence, it could all be part of her imagination. "Drop me off… somewhere… away…" That's all she can manage, at least until her focus comes back. _If_ it comes back.

Sam hesitates. He'd been right – something was definitely off with her. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

His voice sounds distant and blurred, almost like her head is submerged under water – it's all distorted. That is, _if_ he actually spoke at all... _If _he's really even here. At this point she isn't exactly sure what to believe. The idea that she can't even trust her own instincts terrifies her, leaves her feeling a little numb.

When she remains silent, he reaches forward and yanks her hood back, causing her to jump and let out a small cry. His first thought had been that she'd gone to see her idiot boyfriend and that he'd hit her, but there's no sign of bruising.

Andy immediately yanks her hood back up, but not before he sees her glossy eyes and dilated pupils. She starts to panic. _What the hell is going on? Why isn't he driving? Wasn't it supposed to wear off by now? Where are the cops? Is that a siren? That is a siren._ _Oh man._ _Why is he here? Did I call him? He's a cop. Oh my god, I called a cop. Just act cool. He doesn't know. He doesn't need to know. Stay calm. Just stare straight ahead. Maybe he won't notice._

"Are you on something?" he asks, eyes wide. He's only seen her a couple of times before, but she's never been like this. She's fidgeting, more than a little jumpy, and can't seem to focus. She's tripping out. Big time.

His voice cuts through the fog; it sounds a little clearer this time. She struggles to keep her eyes pointed straight ahead. _Oh my god he knows. Lie. Just lie. He won't know. He can't. Doesn't know how to read women, right? Is it hot in here? __Why is he so hot? He clearly works out; even with a jacket it's obvious. H_e should take it off. Yeah, he should definitely take it off. Is it just me or is it hot in here? Yeah, it's way too hot. Why doesn't he just take that damn jacket off? I wonder how he looks in uniform. Who am I kidding? That man would probably look good in anything… Even one of those stupid banana suits. She almost giggles at the thought, but manages to keep it in as her thoughts turn again. _If he arrests me, will he pat me down? I wouldn't mind if… Focus. Lie. _"I'm not…" She shakes her head, but everything is swimming in front of her eyes. "…Not on anything," she finally manages, her tone a little rough.

Sam snatches up her hand and holds it loosely in his palm. He can feel her trembling and suspects it has very little to do with natural adrenaline or fear.

_He's so warm. Fire. Campfires. Her dad. Oh, he'll be mad. He can't know. Does Sam know? Why's he here? Oh yeah, I called him… I think. Why'd he come? Have we moved? I don't think we've moved. _She squints as she looks out the side window, but her focus is so shot she can't even tell if it's the same building as before. _Seriously if he keeps holding my hand like that I'm going to… What am I going to do? Is the rest of his body this warm? Focus. Pull your hand away. _She felt her fingers curl around his hand. _No. No. No. Pull it away. Don't jump him. Don't touch him. Don't look at him. _She yanked her hand away, but couldn't stop herself from looking at him. He was studying her. That much she could tell, even if her vision wasn't great. _Stop acting weird; he's getting suspicious. _She narrowed her eyes. _Be vulgar. He'll think that's normal. Vulgar or rude. Rude. Okay._ "Didn't take you for a hand holder," she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. _Not rude enough. How did I even form a whole sentence? Doesn't matter. Focus._

"And I didn't take you for an idiot," Sam retorts. She's definitely on some sort of drug, but her current symptoms aren't giving any indication as to which one.

_Did he just call me an idiot? _"If I'm an idiot," she begins, taking a deep breath as she struggles to string the words together. _How is it that he made being an idiot sound sexy? _Her eyes flick to his lips. _I wonder what it would feel like… Focus. What was I saying again? Oh. Right. _"And I beat you in poker…" She shakes her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. _What would happen if I beat him at poker? No wait, I already did. But he thinks I'm an idiot. Bingo. _"What does that make you?"

Sam's eyes widen. Truthfully, he's the idiot that's catering to the needs of a kid, but he's not about to admit that. Unbuckling his own seatbelt, he leans toward her and sniffs.

She knows she isn't thinking straight, but she's completely caught off-guard by his action. "Did you… did you just smell me?" she asks, staring at him in disbelief. _He smells good. I hope I don't smell bad. _Taking a deep breath she subtly tries to see if she smells, but all she can smell is him. She wants to pull him back when he moves away, but is distracted when a car door slams somewhere behind them. Again, she jumps.

The only thing he can smell is the alcohol in her breath, so whatever she took had to have been ingested or injected, not smoked. "Show me your arms."

"What?" Andy says, quirking an eyebrow, or at least that's what she's trying to do, but at this point she isn't quite sure if her body is cooperating.

"Push up your sleeves and show me your arms."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." _Chill. You sound like a two year old_, she silently scolds herself.

He stares at her for a long moment before shrugging off his jacket. Normally he wouldn't give in, but this might be the quickest way to get her to do what he wants. Sure enough, she follows suit. Wasting no time, he grabs her arms and examines them, turning them so he can take a better look. Seeing no sign of needle marks, he pulls back into his own seat and runs a hand over his face. What the hell is he supposed to do with her? "You didn't smoke it or inject it, so what the hell did you take?"

"Oh my god," Andy says, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Will you just give up?"_ He's not going to. What was I thinking? I wasn't. _

"_You_ called me," Sam replies, eyes narrowing.

He watches her shrink back as a cop car drives passed them. His patience is starting to wear thin. "Andy, what did you do?" His tone is sharp and demanding.

"I didn't... I didn't do anything." She's starting to panic. Struggling to see through the fog. Failing to find a way out of this mess. She rubs her face, cursing before unconsciously crying out and throwing her head into her lap. It's all too much to handle right now. Way too many thoughts and emotions are running through her, and she has no idea how to cope with all of it.

Sam takes a deep breath in an attempt to keep his temper from flaring up. "You called me around one in the morning, asking me to pick you up. It's obvious you ran from something and the sight of that cop car freaked you out." He pauses and takes another deep breath. She's too smart to be acting this stupid. And he's probably being stupid by helping her. "You can't involve me like this and not tell me what's going on, so unless you want me to turn around and follow that cop car back to the station, then you'd better be ready to give me an explanation."

"It's nothing," Andy says firmly, but when Sam turns the truck around and heads in the direction the cop car went, she reaches out and grabs his arm. "Okay... Okay, I'll tell you… Just go somewhere else, anywhere but here."

"Your house?" he asks, knowing full well that she's about as likely to want to go there as the station.

"Nooooo," Andy says. _Is he serious? My dad will KILL me. _"Uhhh…" She hesitates. She can't stay with Gail since she lives at home with her parents, and since she just came from her boyfriend's university that's out of the question too.

Sam glances at her, biting back a disgruntled sigh before turning down a side street and heading to his place. Along the way he glances over at her a few times, noting the slight shift in her demeanour each time. When they finally pull up to his house, he starts to get out, but pauses when he realizes she hasn't budged. "Coming?" he asks.

She raises her hand so it's about a foot away from her face and starts rotating it, tilting her head as she stares at it in fascination.

"McNally?" he says, raising his voice a little.

She jumps. Her head snaps in his direction. "Huh?"

"Get out," he says, gesturing to the building.

"Oh," she says, but as she looks at him, she breaks out in a fit of giggles.

He curses. Whatever she's on clearly hasn't fully made its way through her system yet – he only hopes that the laughing means she's winding down. He can't be sure though and that makes him nervous – if something happens to her while she's in his care... "I'm taking you to the hospital," he mutters. He just can't risk being wrong.

"No," Andy cries, fumbling with the door handle for a second before tumbling out of the truck and onto the pavement.

Sam scrambles out of the vehicle and runs around to the other side to find her lying on the ground laughing. "I'm not going to risk having you die just because—"

"I'm not going to die," she says, but she can't finish speaking without laughing again.

"Prove it. Tell me what you're on and how much you took." He reaches down and helps her up.

"Not out here," she says in a hushed voice, putting a finger to his lips. _Soft, just like I originally thought. I bet he's a good kisser. Probably better than Tyler._

He gently pulls her hand away and tries to help her back into the truck.

"Let go," she says, struggling against him. Each breath is short and sharp. Tears threaten to spill over. Her entire body is trembling harder.

"You need to go to the hospital," Sam hisses, his eyes flicking to a guy passing by.

"No," she says, shoving him away. She starts heading down the street, stumbling slightly with every few steps she takes.

"Stop," Sam says, quickly catching up to her and gently grabbing her arm.

"I'm not…" She blinks hard, trying to focus. "I'm not going."

"Okay, just come inside then," Sam says, forcing himself to use a gentler tone. There's no way he's going to let her go off on her own, and he has a feeling that if he picks her up and tries to put her in his truck, he won't be able to keep her there long enough to get in the other side.

She tries to shake him off. The tears finally spill over. "What do you care?"

He stares at her. Is this what Tommy has to deal with everyday? He'd much rather see her on the ground laughing than have to deal with her stubborn streak, especially after the night he'd given up. "I don't want to see you get hurt or worse, okay?"

She laughs dryly. "I shouldn't have called you… You're exactly like them." She thought he was different, but the way he's treating her now, the way he's talking, it's the same thing she gets from her dad and Oliver. All the time. And she's sick of it.

"Then why did you?" Sam asks, not quite sure how he feels about being lumped into the same category as Oliver or her dad. As he speaks, he slowly pulls her towards his place. He suspects she really isn't even aware of the fact that they're walking.

"There isn't anyone else."

He frowns. She has her dad and Oliver, and from what he's heard, she has a lot of friends. Maybe nobody she can turn to about this though. That's when it hits him. "Where's your boyfriend? Why didn't you call him?"

She laughs again. "That idiot? He's probably sitting in the slammer waiting for his dad to talk his way out."

Sam frowns. "If he's such an idiot, then why are you with him?"

"His dad's some hot-shot lawyer, but Tyler's totally damaged. Not one of those preppy kids from school. He's real. A total screw-up... My dad would _hate_ him."

His step falters. "If you're with him to get back at your dad for something, why hide it?"

Andy rubs her face and looks up at him. Her focus is starting to come back a little, but it's still not great. "I'm too far gone to have this conversation right now."

"Try."

Squinting up at him, she sighs. "What my dad doesn't know can't hurt him... can't make things worse... but it doesn't mean I can't find some joy in knowing that he'd completely flip if he found out."

"That's the most screwed up thing I've ever heard," Sam says.

"Yeah well, you know my dad, right? So you should know our family is pretty screwed up."

He manages to unlock his door and pull them inside without her realizing. Her eyes have been trained on his face the entire time; her thoughts have been focused on every word that came out of her mouth. Now that they're inside though and it's noticeably warmer, he watches as it finally starts to register with her.

"I… what…?" She blinks hard, taking in her new surroundings.

Sam pulls her further into his place, then gestures towards the couch in his living room. "Sit," he says, as he retreats to the kitchen to get a glass of water. When he returns, she's rubbing her eyes again. "Drink it," he says, passing her the glass.

She takes the water and downs half of it within a few seconds.

"So what happened?"

Andy sits down on the couch, her feet planted firmly on the floor as she turns to look at him. Seconds later though, she's pulling her feet up onto the couch, then shifting again so her legs are crossed. She changes positions a few more times before looking at him oddly. "I was supposed to go to a party."

"With Gail?"

"No," Andy says. "Well, I mean, she was there, but I wasn't supposed to go with her. She only went because I didn't really know anybody... and I don't know… it's Gail. We do everything together... Do you know her? You probably do. Her mom's like the superintendent so I'm sure you've met her daughter… or at least heard of her."

"Yeah, I know her," Sam says, trying to get Andy back on track. At this point though, he isn't sure if that's possible. He could barely get anything out of her before, and now that he has her talking, she's all over the place. Everything about her has been all over the place tonight: her moods, her actions, reactions, thoughts, focus, attitude toward him. Everything. And it was like someone had just flipped another switch in her.

"Okay, good, well maybe not good, she's kind of a real bitc—"

"Andy, I know who Gail is, so why don't you tell me where you were?"

"Oh, okay," Andy says, frowning. "Well, I was supposed to go to this rich kid's house party with Tyler, but apparently the kid screwed up the weekend his parents are out of town, so… who does that? I mean, he invited like over a hundred kids and—"

He waves his hand. "Where did you actually go?"

"Oh. Right. Umm, well it was one of the residences at the university. I don't even know which one anymore. Did you know that each residence has its own—"

Sam rubs his face. "What happened while you were there?"

"You know what I said about Gail? I meant it, but she's like my BFF. She's kind of like what Oliver is to you, you know?"

"Got it," Sam says. "Now what happened when you were at the residence?"

"I'm getting there," Andy says, rolling her eyes. "You're not very patient, are you?" Panic flashes across her face. "I mean, you're… uh… you're not going to take me back, are you? I didn't—"

"Focus," Sam says sharply. He nudges the glass of water towards her lips again and she obediently drinks the rest of it. Once empty, he takes the glass from her and goes to the kitchen to refill it, surprised when she follows him and pushes herself up onto one of the stools behind the counter.

Andy swivels in the chair, spinning it around several times until she sees Sam's face appear. In an attempt to stop herself, she grabs onto the counter, but is so dizzy at that point that she topples over.

Sam just barely manages to set the glass down in time to steady her. "I think that's enough spinning McNally."

Andy looks at her hands, which are firmly planted on his biceps. "You're fit. Like _really_ fit." Her eyes shift to his chest before moving up to his face. "Did I just say that?" She shakes her head and blinks hard. "I—"

Sam releases her and hands her the glass of water, ignoring her comment. "You were about to tell me what happened at the residence."

"Yeah," she says, accepting the water from him. "They do a lot of really weird things there. Like this one guy was—"

Sam rubs his face. "Andy," he says sharply. "Focus on my question. I don't care what anyone else did. I don't care what you saw. Just tell me what's relevant. What did you take?"

"I…" Andy begins, but seconds later she's squeezing her eyes shut as a wave of nausea hits her.

Sam takes her hand and leads her to the bathroom, just barely making it there before Andy throws up. Sliding a hair elastic off her wrist, he pulls her hair back, then grabs a cloth and hands it to her.

Tears are streaming down her face when she finally pulls away from the toilet and sits down, leaning up against the counter.

"What did you take?" he asks again, his tone a little softer this time.

She hastily wipes away the tears and shakes her head. "I don't know."

He stares at her in disbelief. "You took something without knowing what it was?"

"No…" she says.

He gives her a hard look.

"Okay, well, maybe," Andy says weakly. "I mean, Tyler said he's done it before. Said it would loosen me up for a couple of hours, and like _everybody_ was doing it there."

"So you thought you would too?"

"They were having fun."

Before she can ramble some more, he says, "Why though? Didn't you listen to anything I said before?"

"I heard you, but I... I snapped." She hesitates. "And I may have had too much to drink, and uh…"

"And what?" Sam presses.

Grimacing, she says, "I may have also had a brownie."

He stares down at her, struggling to school his features. "Let me guess, it was special?"

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?… That when I ate it, I didn't know it had weed in it," Andy says, wiping another tear away.

"Is that the truth?"

She nods.

"But you aren't just drunk and high on marijuana," Sam says. "What else?"

"I don't know," she says quietly. "It was some kind of pill… blue… It's supposed to be new."

"So you took something without knowing exactly what it was, and knowing that it was new?" he asks, stunned. "Do you have any idea how much product passes through this city that isn't clean? People die from this kind of thing. Why would you even risk that?"

"Because I'm tired," she says, the tears coming faster. "I'm sick of coming home to find my dad passed out on the couch. Sick of watching him drink his way to the bottom of one bottle after another. I don't want to have to deal with it anymore. I don't want to see it, or hear about it. But he won't stop or get help. And I can't ignore it anymore…"

"So you think this is better than what he's doing?"

Throwing herself towards the toilet once more, she empties the contents of her stomach. After wiping her face, she leans back against the cupboards. "I know it's not, but for a few hours, I was able to forget everything. Forget that there was a time when he was a good dad. _Really_ good. The kind of guy that takes his daughter camping every year, reads a story before bed…"

"He loves you," Sam says.

"Yeah, well, it's always ramped up when people are over… puts on a show, tries to make it seem like everything's okay, but it's not. He hasn't been the same since my mom left," Andy replies. "You know, he doesn't come to any of my basketball or soccer games anymore, and he didn't even remember my birthday this year... I mean, I shouldn't be surprised, and I shouldn't be upset because it's not even a big deal. It's just a stupid day, but—"

"Did you talk to him about it?"

"I've tried, but he doesn't remember it in the morning anyway, and he won't listen when he's sober." She pauses. "I don't want to remember any of it though... I just wanted to have fun for one night, and just not care. I wanted to fit in, to feel like I belonged somewhere, and tonight I did."

"You don't have to do those things to fit in or be accepted," Sam says. "You're smarter than that."

"Can I have some more water?" she asks, rubbing her face.

He retreats to the kitchen to grab her glass and returns to find her passed out. After a hesitant moment, he slides down beside her. "I don't know what to do with you," he whispers.

**Scene 3**

_The next day…_

When Andy wakes up, the room is spinning, but she knows she's beyond the point where she'll be sick again. Head pounding, she squints as she tries to take in her surroundings, only faintly remembering coming to Sam's house. She remembers being in the bathroom, but she doesn't remember going there or coming back. And she's pretty sure she told him something, maybe even a lot; she just has no idea what. All she really knows is that right now she's on the couch in his living room. Sam is sitting on the opposite end, his head propped up by his left hand and his eyes closed. His breathing tells her he's still sleeping. Her eyes land on the clock. It's nine in the morning. She wonders how late they were up, and just how much she could have said in that time. Panic courses through her, but it doesn't last long. He helped her; he didn't arrest her. A small smile touches her lips before she slowly gets up off the couch and searches for a piece of paper and pen. When she finally finds what she needs, she scribbles a quick '_Thank you'_, then leaves the piece of paper on the couch before quietly making her way outside.

**Thanks again for reading! Up next, Andy's life really starts to spiral out of control. But, what happens when Sam finally draws the line? **


	6. Butting Heads

**Welcome back! As always, thanks for your reviews/follows/favourites! You guys definitely know how to get me to blush with your kind words, so thank you for all of your feedback and support!**

**Oh, and as you'll see, this chapter sort of starts off like the last one, but don't worry, there's nothing to it.**

**And this chapter grew to be 8,224 words, so I'm breaking it in "half". So basically, there won't be a long wait between this update and the next. That said, if this chapter doesn't entirely go along with what I said to expect, that's because part of it comes in the next chapter… For my future reference though (if this happens again), would you guys prefer a super LONG chapter but potentially a longer wait time between updates, or smaller (but still decent length) chapters with less of a wait time? Anyone have a preference?**

**Recap: Andy is playing poker with her dad, Oliver, and Sam in an effort to win Oliver's silence regarding the existence of her college-age boyfriend. While her dad is out of the room, Andy's behaviour could be considered somewhat inappropriate, including bribing Oliver for his silence and exchanging intense stares with Sam. Meanwhile, Sam develops an obvious curiosity where Andy is considered, wanting to know more about her, while simultaneously finding himself slowly being wrapped around her finger in the same way Oliver and her dad are… Andy ends up winning the poker game… Sam and Oliver respond to a noise complaint call and end up running into Andy and her boyfriend. Oliver threatens Tyler, and Sam has to convince Andy to let them drive her home. Andy ends up calling Sam in the middle of the night to pick her up, and he finds out that she's been doing drugs and running from the cops.**

* * *

Sam has her shirt halfway over her head when his phone starts ringing. "You've got to be kidding me," he mutters, already having a pretty good idea of who's calling without even having to look at the screen. Sure, he's only heard from her once, and that was about three weeks ago, but the fact that he's positive it's her means that she hasn't figured things out after all. He barely withholds a groan. The first two weeks after picking her up had been spent butting heads with Lindsay. Every time they'd tried to get intimate, she brought up Andy, and every time she mentioned Andy's name, he found himself becoming abnormally defensive. So, after two weeks of nothing but fighting, they called it quits. Not that is was surprising. The convenience factor had long-since vanished and they weren't serious enough to really try to work things out. But tonight he's with someone again – for the first time since Lindsay – and here's Andy throwing another wrench into things... his life, to be more specific. With each ring he gets a sinking feeling that he's in for another round, this time with...

His eyes flick to Emily's face… At least he's pretty sure her name is Emily. Or Emma? Anna? Hell, he doesn't know anymore. He'd met her a few hours ago at The Penny. They hadn't talked much, but it was clear what she was after, and he wasn't about to object. She was pretty: blond hair, petite. Definitely his type. So he went for it. Bought her a few drinks and took her home. And now his night is about to be derailed again by the teenage brunette.

Shooting her an apologetic look, he connects the call. "You're not running again, are you?"

"Uh, no… nope, I'm definitely not running," Andy replies, her teeth pressing down on her lower lip as she looks around.

"So…?"

"So…" She pauses. She needs help. She _really_ needs help, but how far is he willing to go?

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Sam asks, rubbing his face.

_He's not going to help_, Andy thinks, eyes widening. Then again, it is almost two in the morning, later than the last time she'd called him. She silently curses. "Yeah, I know." She takes a deep breath. "Look I'm _really_ sorry. It's just…" She falls silent again, struggling to find the least damaging way of putting things.

"Just what, McNally?" Sam asks. She doesn't sound high or drunk, so what can she possibly want?

"I kind of need you to come get me… As in, I _really_ need you to get me…" She pauses, listening for a moment to the silence on the other end. "Please?" she adds, hating how desperate she suddenly sounds, but truth be told, she is pretty much at her last straw.

"From?" Sam presses. He's already getting a bad feeling, like he isn't going to like what he's about to hear.

She gives him an address that sounds familiar, but he can't quite place it.

He hesitates, smirking as he feels the woman's hands roaming his body. Does he really want to do this again? Just drop his personal life to help her? At this rate and with her timing, he won't even have much of a personal life anymore. Deciding to assess the situation a little more and find out how bad things are, he asks, "What if I'm busy?"

Silence.

"Andy?"

"Okay," she says quietly, her voice shaking.

Sam withholds a groan. She sounds scared now.

"I've gotta go," she says, her voice barely audible.

"McNally, wait," Sam says, sighing. "Why me? I know I said I'd help, but why me?"

Andy closes her eyes, pressing her lips together before finally taking a deep breath and saying, "Look, I'm sorry I bothered you, okay? But, I've gotta go."

He can tell she's probably struggling to hold back tears now. "Tell me why and I'll come get you."

Silence.

"Andy?"

"Because you know… and this is the only call I have."

He can hear some people in the background, and can make out enough of the conversations to get a pretty good idea of where she is now. "Were you arrested?"

"I... Maybe."

"Yes or no?" he asks sharply, though he's pretty sure he already knows the answer. He's hoping he's wrong though.

"Yes." Again, she sounds timid, uncertain, and scared.

"Last time McNally," Sam says. If Tommy or Oliver find out he kept this from them, he'll be in a lot of trouble. He really isn't even sure why he listened to her and kept his mouth shut in the first place. Or why he's about to do it again. Well, except for the fact that he hadn't taken Oliver seriously when his friend warned him that Andy would have him wrapped around her finger. He hadn't listened, and here he is, the hardheaded rookie who doesn't take crap from anyone, suddenly driving around the city at all hours of the night, any night, to help her out. Yeah, he supposes he knows exactly why he listens to her. As much as he doesn't understand it and would love to deny it, Andy McNally has rapidly become his weakness. He's determined to fix that though.

"Thank you."

When he hangs up the phone, he looks back at the woman to find her arms folded across her chest. "Got a girlfriend?"

Sam shakes his head.

"Then why do I have a feeling you're gonna ditch me?"

He hesitates. "A… friend needs help."

"At two in the morning?" she asks, hands on her hips. She's now staring at him like he has three heads.

He runs a hand over his face. Does he really have to have this conversation with every woman? No. This is the last time; he meant it when he told Andy that. He can't keep dropping everything for her. She has to learn, and she won't do that if she has him as her safety net 24/7. For a brief moment he contemplates letting Andy wait, making sure she realizes he's serious – maybe even teach her a lesson. But he can't. She really does have him wrapped around her finger, but that's about to change. "Yeah," is all he says as he looks at her.

"Do you always run off and help your friend like this? Let him or her control your life?"

Sam clenches his teeth. Is this woman really giving him a lecture? Sure, maybe he's being a bit of a pushover when it comes to Andy, but who is she to tell him? Maybe it's a good thing they didn't talked much at The Penny. He hesitates a fraction of a second before grabbing his jacket and putting on his boots. He knows it's completely unnecessary, but this woman is getting on his nerves, so when he speaks next, he makes sure he emphasizes that Andy's a woman. "_She_ needs my help."

"Yeah, well, whoever _she_ is, she's not worth it. She clearly doesn't have any boundaries."

Sam ignores her and heads for the door.

"I'm telling you now, if you walk out that door, you're missing out sweetheart. That girl just isn't worth it."

He meets her eyes for a moment, then flings the door open and leaves without another word or glance back.

* * *

_At 27 Division..._

Sam picks up the pen, but hesitates. His name is going to be all over this document, and it could very well come back to bite him. He glances to his right. At least Andy has the decency to look ashamed. Still, he wants to pull her aside and make her promise to quit whatever the hell she's been up to, but until he signs the document, he can't take her anywhere, and asking her with another officer just feet away will only make things worse... for both of them. Shaking his head, he signs the document and nods to the officer, who then frees Andy from the handcuffs.

She follows him out of the station, but stops when they're a few metres away from the sidewalk. "Thanks," she says, her eyes cast downward.

He turns back and stares at her in disbelief. Does she really think he's just going to leave her here? "Get in the truck." His voice is sharp and demanding.

"I didn't do anything," she says quietly, still staring at the ground.

"McNally, get in the truck," he growls. "I'm taking you home."

She hesitates, her voice a little louder this time when she speaks. "I'm not going home."

"Like hell you aren't," he says, trying to keep his voice down so that they won't attract any attention.

"I can't go home yet," she says firmly, her eyes slowly making their way up his body, though they stop when they reach his chest. She can't quite bring herself to look him in the eye.

Sam studies her for a moment, then tilts her chin up, taking a quick glance around before saying, "Why did they bring you in?" When she doesn't respond, he adds, "They wouldn't have released you if you were on something, so what is it?"

She turns her head away, breaking contact with his hand. "I told you I didn't do anything."

"Then why won't you go home?" He's starting to get a little irritated now. Why the hell did he have to offer his help again? _Because I'm an idiot_. _Got sucked in by big brown eyes, a sweet smile, and burning curiosity._

"I, uh…" She pauses, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "I have to get something."

Gently grabbing her arm, he pulls her toward his truck. "Get in and I'll take you."

She hesitates, but doesn't have much of a choice with the way he's boxing her in, so she finally nods and gets in the truck, giving him the address when he climbs in the other side.

The drive is done in silence, but there's nothing comfortable about it. They're almost at the destination when she says, "Can you pullover?"

Sam glances at her before taking in the surroundings. It's not exactly the safest neighbourhood. "We aren't there yet."

She hesitates. "I know, but this is it."

He gives her a hard look before pulling over, getting out and following her as she heads down an alley.

When she looks over her shoulder and sees him a couple of metres behind her, she stops rather abruptly, her heart pounding heavily in her chest. "Uh, what are you doing?"

His eyes narrow. "You didn't think I was just going to let you walk around here alone, did you?"

Andy swallows hard. "Uh… You know, maybe I'll just go home after all."

"Are you meeting someone?"

"No."

"Then get whatever you're here to get," he replies, starting to get a pretty good idea of why they're here.

She stiffens.

"Is there a problem?" he presses.

"Umm, nope," Andy replies. "Just looking for my watch." She searches his face to see if he can see through her lie, but for once she can't really read him. Turning abruptly, she starts moving further down the alley, deciding that she'd better put some distance between them in case he decides to check her wrist.

Still, she looks back at him a little nervously, but he merely gestures for her to continue searching, his eyes locked on her back as she turns her head away.

Partway down, she moves to the side, kneels, and grabs something. Her heart is pounding heavily in her chest. When she stands, she slowly turns to face him, trying her best to adopt a neutral expression. "Okay," she says. "Found it." She's fiddling with the strap on her watch as if she'd just been putting it on.

Sam isn't buying it. It may have worked on some people, but he's been getting a better read on her and he's positive she's hiding something. He silently reminds himself that things need to change. "Empty your pockets."

Her eyes meet his. "Why?"

"Do it."

Andy shakes her head. "No thanks."

He takes a deep breath. "McNally, you're going to empty your pockets, or I'm going to do it for you."

She believes him, and that scares her because even though she's pretty sure he knows what she has, she can't bring herself to actually show him. As fear consumes her, her common sense abandons her. She tries to bolt, but he's ready.

Sam reaches out and catches her around the middle. "Stop," he growls. "I'm trying to help you."

"You already did," she says, struggling to free herself. "Now let go."

"No." He gently pulls her towards the brick wall and quickly turns her so her back is pressed up against the solid surface. She's still fighting him though, so he pins her with his forearm. "This needs to stop." His eyes flick to the end of the alley. He knows that this isn't exactly an ideal place to have this kind of conversation, and that if anyone happens to walk by, they might very well think that he's mugging her... or worse. Grimacing, he turns his attention back to her. "Hand it over."

Andy's terrified. She's fairly certain he won't do anything to hurt her, but she's equally sure that she's not going to get away without giving him what he wants. In a final weak attempt to shrug it off, she says, "You want my watch?"

He grinds his teeth together. "Give me the drugs." He can feel her body trembling, and almost considers backing off, but what good will that do? "Andy?" he says, his voice a little softer.

She closes her eyes and a tear escapes, slowly rolling down her left cheek. She hates the fact that she's crying in front of him; she hates that she's even crying at all. But the night's activities have worn her out physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Now he feels guilty. He made her cry. Slowly raising his other hand, he gently wipes the tear away. When her eyes open and she looks up at him, he feels himself being sucked back in. The look in her eyes is heartbreaking, and although he doesn't really understand it, he wants to comfort her. Dropping his forearm, he wraps her up in his arms, pulling her tight to his body. It only takes a few seconds for her arms to wrap around him too. "I can't help you, unless you help me," he says quietly, running a hand up and down her back in a soothing manner. He can gradually feel the tension leave her body.

Andy nods into his chest, takes a deep breath, and pulls away.

"It's just me, okay? I already know," he says, wiping the tears from her face again.

"Okay," she breathes. She takes a long, shaky breath as she reaches into the pocket of her jeans and hands him a small bag.

Sam watches her drop the bag into the palm of his hand, staring at it for a brief second before pocketing it. The last thing he needs is for anyone to see that. Although he's never seen the pill before, he recognizes it based on what Andy had told him. He runs a hand over his face, desperately trying to keep his anger at bay. She's smarter than this. "Why would you even risk it? Do you have any idea what would have happened if they'd caught you with this?"

"Yeah," Andy replies, her walls slamming back up. "Which is why I dropped it."

She's becoming defensive, and that's only causing his temper to flare more. "So you're still doing it?"

She remains silent.

He's losing control. "If you'd even had one drink or taken one pill—"

"But I didn't," she replies, a hint of anger in her own voice. "I didn't do anything... They had nothing on me. I was there, that's it." She left out the fact that she hadn't had a single thing to drink and hadn't done any drugs because she'd just arrived at the party.

He forces himself to turn away and take a deep breath before looking at her again. Maybe she really wasn't going to do those things. Or maybe she'd just been lucky. Either way, she still had the pills with her. He sighs. This whole night feels like a roller coaster, one that isn't going to end anytime soon. "I want to help you Andy, I really do, but this has to stop." He pauses. "I can't do this anymore, because every time I do, it's like it makes it okay and it's not. You're just going to do it again, so I can't." He takes a deep breath. "I... I'm done," he says, meeting her eyes. "You need to learn, and you can't do that if I'm always around to bail you out."

"Fine," she says, trying to shrug it off. If she's honest with herself, she's a little hurt, but she gets it. He has a life, and she's been getting in the way. She starts walking back toward the road, doing her best not to look at him when he steps up beside her. When they finally reach the end of the alley, she turns left, away from the truck.

"Where are you going?" Sam asks.

"Home."

"McNally, get in the truck."

"I'm fine, okay? I can walk. I don't need you to give me a ride. I don't need your help anymore. You've done enough."

He groans. "McNally, please get in the truck." She stops and he thinks she may have actually heard him, but when his eyes settle on a group of guys a little further down the street, he realizes she's a little nervous. And she should be. He recognizes a few of them from the criminal database.

"Umm, yeah, okay," she says, turning abruptly and hurrying past him on her way to his truck.

"Recognize them?" he asks once they're in his truck.

She bites her lip. "My dad may have accidentally left some files on the table... more than once."

He nods. At least it isn't because she actually knows them. Between now and the time he pulls up in front of her house, neither one of them speaks, but as she reaches to open the door, he puts a hand out to stop her from leaving. "Don't throw your life away like this."

Andy meets his eyes for a brief moment. "Thanks for the ride," she says. Without another word she shakes off his hand and gets out of the truck.

He waits until she's inside, getting a bad feeling that whatever path she's heading down is far from over.

**Thanks again for reading! Let me know what you think.**

**Up next, things spiral out of control for Andy, but what happens when she hits rock bottom? And, when Oliver is pulled into the mix, will Sam, Andy, and Oliver be able to cover everything up, or is Andy about to learn the biggest lesson of her life?**


End file.
